Upper Egypt – A seemingly unremarkable artifact discovered nearly a century ago is forcing archaeologists to rethink the history of ancient Egyptian technology. A recent study suggests the item, long labeled a simple awl, is actually the earliest known bow drill, pushing back the invention of this crucial tool by over 2,000 years.
A Second Look at a Predynastic Tool
The re-evaluation of a small copper object is challenging established timelines for technological advancement in ancient Egypt.
Quick fact: The bow drill, a simple yet effective tool, allowed ancient craftspeople to bore holes in materials like wood, stone, and beads, enabling the creation of furniture, ornaments, and more.
The object was first unearthed in a cemetery in Upper Egypt during excavations dating back to the late 4th millennium BCE. Initially cataloged by researchers at the University of Cambridge as “a little awl of copper, with some leather thong wound round it,” it remained largely unstudied for decades, stored in the institution’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
Evidence Points to a Bow Drill
A new study, published in the journal Egypt and the Levant, presents compelling evidence that the artifact is, in fact, the region’s earliest known example of a bow drill. The research team, led by Newcastle University archaeologist Martin Odler, argues that the remaining leather strap is likely a remnant of the bowstring used to operate the tool.
“The ancient Egyptians are famous for stone temples, painted tombs, and dazzling jewelry, but behind those achievements lay practical, everyday technologies that rarely survive in the archaeological record,” Odler explained in a statement. “One of the most important was the drill: a tool used to pierce wood, stone, and beads, enabling everything from furniture-making to ornament production.”
Further analysis revealed physical characteristics consistent with regular use, including rounded edges, a slight curve at the working end, and faint scratch marks. X-ray fluorescence scans also showed the drill was crafted from a unique copper alloy containing arsenic, nickel, lead, and silver.
“The drill contains arsenic and nickel, with notable amounts of lead and silver. Such a recipe would have produced a harder, and visually distinctive, metal compared with standard copper,” said study co-author and archaeometallurgist Jiří Kmošek. He added that the presence of lead and silver “may hint at deliberate alloying choices and, potentially, wider networks of materials or know-how linking Egypt to the broader ancient Eastern Mediterranean in the fourth millennium BCE.”
Rewriting the Timeline
Prior to this re-evaluation, the earliest documented evidence of bow drills in Egypt dated back to the New Kingdom, during the mid-to-late second millennium BCE. This evidence primarily consists of artwork depicting artisans using drills to create beads and woodwork in locations like the West Bank of Luxor.
“This re-analysis has provided strong evidence that this object was used as a bow drill—which would have produced a faster, more controlled drilling action than simply pushing or twisting an awl-like tool by hand,” added Odler. “This suggests that Egyptian craftspeople mastered reliable rotary drilling more than two millennia before some of the best-preserved drill sets.”
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